Car-seal



J. W. BRD, J1.

GAB, SEAL.

Patented Sept. 30, i884.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT Fries..

JOHN W. Bunn, Jn., 'on sT. LoUIs, MIssOIInI.

CAR-SEAL.

SPECIFICATION ,forming part of Letters Patent No. 305,789, datedSeptember 30, 1884.

Application filed June 11, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN W. BURD, Jr., of St. Louis, Missouri, have madea neW- and useful Improvement in Car-Seals, .of which the following is afull, clear,` and exact description, reference being had to the annexeddrawings, making part of this specification, in which y Figure l is ayfront elevation of the improvement; Fig. 2, a rear elevation; Fig. 3, arear elevation, the record being partlyiilled, as by the party sealingthe car; Fig. 4, a View similar to that of Fig. 3, the seal beingbroken; Fig. 5, a view similar to that of Fig. 4, the record beingcompleted; and Fig. 6, a view showing the seal in the lock.

The saine letters of reference'lenote the same parts.

This seal is used, in connection with a seal-` lock, in such manner asto cause the seal, in opening the lock, to be disiigured. Thepeculiarity of this seal is its having aspaoe or spaces for receiving arecord of data connected with the shipping` of the car, (or whateverpackage the seal may be used upon,) such as the times of sending andreceiving the car, the place from which the car is sent, where received,name of party sealing the car, number of car, or other items which canbe succinctly stated and of use in giving a history of the trip ofthecar. The seal may also have a space or part in or upon which cuts,punctures, rents, indentations, or marks can be made for the purpose ofindicating interference with the seal. It is desirable, also, for theseal to bc of such form and character as to make it convenient tohandle, send by Inail or express, or readilyT carry in a compactpackage. To these ends and to carry out the improvement in the mostdesirableway, theseal Ais made of paper or card-board, substantially asshown. The party sealing the oar stamps or afxes the date, a., and thename of the station, b, upon the seal, and preferably upon the face c ofthe seal. He also enters his own name at d upon the seal, the number ofthe car at e, .and the initial at j', which last-named entries arepreferably upon the reverse, g, of the seal. The

seal is then placed in a seal-lock-such as B, Fig. 6--and the car isshipped. The consignee, or party receiving the ear, in opening the parth of the seal to be disflgured seal is then Withthe lock, causes rent atThe drawn from the lock and other data affixed. For instance, the naine,j, of the place where the car is opened, the date, k, when opened, thecondition, Z, of the seal when opened, and any other items-such as thenumber of the train, the name of the conductor-are recorded upon ,theseal, and preferably upon the side g. The seal in this form isthen-transmitted to the otcer of the company having charge of thefreight, and by him retained for the purpose of keeping a record of thetrip of the car. A proper check can thus be k ept upon th ose partiesimmediately in charge of the car, and as the above-named data can bereadily put upon the seal and the seal easily returned by the consigneeto the freightofce, the officer in charge thereof is promptly informedoi' whatever he should be` apprised of.

It is obvious the seal can be varied in form, and it can be employed invarious forms of seal-looks. rl`he lock B is considered a desirable formof lock for this purpose. It is fully described in a pending applicationof mine for Letters Patent. It consists, generally speaking,

ple o, the hasp having a frame, p, for holding of a hasp, m, hasp-latchn, and sta.

the seal, and also having a locking-plate (notv which a projection uponthe latch engages, which plate and projection cannot be disengaged andthe lock opened, save by pressing against the face of the sealsufticiently to puncture it, substantially as shown.

In case cars having` these seals are taken charge of anywhere along theroute by the second conductor, who flnds a seal broken, this secondconductor leaves the original broken seal in the lock and inserts an eWseal beside it. This serves to locate the division of the road Where thelock was opened.

l'. claimhere shown) with A car-seal having its address, direction,

or like data on one part of the face, while the other portion is blank,in combination Witha look provided with devices for mutilating the samein the blank portion in the act of opening, thus leaving the address orother data uninjured, substantially as described.

p JOHNW. BURD, JR. iVitnesses:

C. D. MOODY,

J. W. SPENCER.

